Song: Taco Grande
Running Time: 3:45
Year: 1992
Album: Off The Deep End, The Food Album, Al-In-The-Box, Taco Grande, The Best Of Yankovic
Parody of: Rico Suave by Gerrardo
Genre: Latin hip hop
Guitar tuning: E standard
Lyrics: Lyrics
Video: None
Download/Listen: None
Forum: Forum Discussion Page
Trivia[]
- Another one of Al's many food-themed songs; this one is about a man's obsession with Mexican food, including:
- Chimichangas: deep-fried burritos.
- Chile colorado: "Colored chili"; a beef stew made with a red chili sauce.
- Steak picado: "Chopped steak"; a beef stir-fry.
- Flautas: "Flutes";crispy fried tortillas with some sort of filling, such as chicken or cheese. (Also called "taquitos", which are also mentioned).
- Tamales: starchy corn dough and various fillings steamed inside a banana leaf or corn husk.
- Chile relleno: "Stuffed chilis"; chili peppers stuffed with various fillings and deep fried in egg batter or corn flour.
- Tostada: "Toast"; a deep-fried or toasted tortilla, with or without fillings or toppings.
- Carne asada: "Roasted meat"; a steak that is grilled and cut into slices and is a common ingredient in many dishes.
- Enchilada: a filled corn tortilla covered in chili sauce.
- Flour tortilla: a flat, circular, flexible bread that is the basis for countless Mexican dishes.
- Quesadilla: a tortilla filled with cheese (and sometimes other ingredients), folded in half and grilled.
- Tacos al carbon: tacos filled with ingredients grilled over charcoal.
- Burrito ranchero: "Rancher's burrito"; a burrito (large tortilla stuffed with various fillings and wrapped into a tight cylinder) served with a tomato-based ranchero sauce.
- Refried beans: beans that are cooked and then mashed.
- Nacho chips: also just called nachos; refers to tortilla chips covered in melted cheese and sometimes other ingredients.
- Chicken fajitas: tacos made with grilled chicken.
- Margarita: a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.
- Taquitos: another term for the aforementioned flautas.
- Chile con queso: "Chili with cheese"; a bean and/or beef-based stew topped with cheese.
- Pico de gallo: "Rooster's beak"; a type of salad used as a condiment or garnish, consisting of chopped tomato, cilantro, onion, chili peppers, salt, and lime juice.
- Jalapeños: a certain type of green chili pepper, ubiquitous in Latin American cuisine.
- Guacamole: a dip consisting of mashed avocados, salt, lime juice and spices.
- Pinto beans: the most common type of bean in Mexican cuisine.
- Cinnamon crispas: a dessert consisting of flour tortilla chips covered in cinnamon and sugar; formerly a popular Taco Bell menu item.
- Though no video was filmed for this song, Al once aired Gerardo's original "Rico Suave" video with the audio for "Taco Grande" dubbed over it as a video on an Al TV special.
- The bridge features a rap in Spanish by Cheech Marin, best known as one half of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong.
- Translated into English, he says: "Good evening, sir, and welcome to Enrico’s House of Salsa. We have many very delicious dishes. May I recommend the burning chicken from hell. Very delicious. Your eyes will burn. Your stomach will be on fire. You’ll be in the bathroom for a week! Do you understand what I’m saying, you stupid gringo idiot?"
- Despite his comedic persona being that of a Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrant, Marin is not actually fluent in Spanish; Al had to write the lines in English and have them translated into Spanish by an employee of Scotti Bros. Records so Marin could read it off of a sheet.
- Unusually for one of Al's parody songs, a cover version of this song exists, by Fred Mollin and the Blue Sea Band with Tim Buppert on vocals. It was recorded for and released in 2007 on Ratatouille: What's Cooking?, a CD of food-themed songs released in conjunction with the Disney/Pixar film Ratatouille.
- Since it's on an album intended for children, the line "and a pitcher margaritas" was changed to "and I'd love some carnitas", and Cheech Marin's Spanish-language rap during the bridge was replaced with a recording of restaurant ambience and a New York-accented guy saying "Do you guys serve tacos?"
- Al filmed a "What's in my bag?" video for the Amoeba Records store in Los Angeles, in which he is shown purchasing this album for his daughter.